Out of the Cold
by Lucinda
Summary: Short fic, season 7 finale spoilers. Logan meets a blond killing vampires.


Out of the Cold   
  
author: Lucinda  
  
rating: pg13  
  
main characters: Logan, Buffy post Season 7!!  
  
disclaimer: I own nobody from BtVS or Marvel Entertainment/X-Men the Movie  
  
distribution: TNL, Twisting, Paula, anyone else please ask.  
  
note: post season 7 BtVS, post X-Men 1 (sequel? what sequel?)  
  
  
  
  
  
Logan paused, hearing the sounds of a fight to the left. There was growling, and a woman's voice insulting someone... something about bad breath and an overbite? With a small snicker, he moved that way, out of curiosity more than anything else. He'd been searching for answers about his past, and had only found snow, wild life, and trees. Whatever else was going on, this fight would be something a bit different. He began following the noises, trying to develop a picture of what was going on, wishing that the wind was coming from a different direction so that he could smell the fight.  
  
Finally, he came to a slightly more open area, where five burly figures were attacking a blond woman holding a small sharp stick. No, it was a wooden stake... and those were vampires. He knew that scent, although he had no idea from where or how. He could feel himself growling, and leapt at the nearest vampire, the claws slashing through his neck and turning the vampire to dust before he had time to react. Joining into the fight, he had the oddest feeling that this was so much easier this time... And a tiny corner of his mind tried to figure out what in the hell 'this time' meant while the rest of him focused on the fight, on keeping track of the vampires. It was harder to behead them now that they knew he was here, but it wasn't as difficult to cut them, dropping them to the ground where Blondie could stake them.  
  
"Thanks for the assist, but... well, who the heck are you?" Her voice had a bit of an accent, Californian, maybe?  
  
He looked at her, noticing the dark shadows of exhaustion on her face, the traces of pain and loneliness and long acquaintence with battle and pain and death in her hazel eyes. "I'm Logan. Why don't you come with me, I can make some hot dinner."  
  
Part of him was wondering exactly how much trouble this would lead to. The last time he'd felt sorry for a pretty girl standing in the snow, it had been Marie, leading to all sorts of interesting mayhem and confusion. How much trouble would this one lead him into? "What's your name?"  
  
"Buffy." Her voice was a bit soft, a bit flattened, as if something had happened and she was trying not to care.  
  
Glancing at the woman, Logan almost wondered if he'd heard her right. This woman was named Buffy? That sounded like the name of some fluffy cheerleader, not a woman that fought vampires. But no, she'd said Buffy. "Bit far from home, aren't you?"  
  
"Home isn't there anymore. I lived in Sunnydale, and it's just... a big crater in the ground. I almost didn't make it out alive." Her voice had the slightly distracted sound of someone half lost in memories.  
  
Logan nodded, remembering hearing something about that on the radio. "Group of experts are trying to blame it on a fault line. Something about the earth shifting, and unexpected sink holes. Why do I have the feeling it isn't quite the case?"  
  
"Well, maybe you're just smarter than the average bear? We... we did something to make the word safer. We didn't know that it would... we had no idea that it would do that. Let them explain it any way they like, the wouldn't want the truth anyhow." Buffy sounded like she was remembering pain, remembering loss and fear and suffering.  
  
"I can't imagine how killing vampires could have turned a town into a giant sink-hole." Logan let the question out as he lead her towards his camper, a newer version of the one he'd had before. It was also much better, as far as he was concerned.  
  
"Well... it's a bit more complicated. You offered hot food?" She sounded like she'd really rather not explain.  
  
"Yeah." He gestured at his camper, sitting forlornly in the snow. "It's not much, but there's no wind, and it's got a stove."  
  
"At the moment, it looks pretty good." She offered a tentative smile.  
  
They went into the camper, and he began cooking a can of stew. Buffy made her way to the tiny bathroom, muttering something about needing to clean a few scratches. Logan considered what he'd done, the possible mess that he'd just jumped into. It would be trouble, and danger, but... He had the feeling that it was the right thing to do.  
  
And maybe the snow wasn't the only sort of cold that Buffy needed to come out of. Maybe she'd been alone for too long. Not that he was the greatest company in the world, but... he could definitely watch her back. Maybe that would give her a bit of time to heal from whatever emotional wounds Sunnydale had left her with.  
  
end Out of the Cold. 


End file.
